ROAD TO NEW BRIGHTON

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5255, 23 March 1928, Page 3

ROAD TO NEW BRIGHTON

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER.

ASSISTANCE FOR METALLING.

During their tour of the Franklin County on Wednesday the Minister of Lands (the Hon. A. D. McLeod) and the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. K. S. Williams) visited New Brighton and met a large gathering of settlers from the Hauraki Plains, Waikato, and; Franklin counties.

The principal matter was a joint deputation to the Minister of Public Works asking for Government assistance towards the metalling of the Waitakarurw-Miranda road, of which 2 miles 10 chains is in the Hauraki Plains. County and 35 chains in the Waikato County, though the road also serves as an outlet for a number of Franklin County isettilers. The deputation was introduced by Mr T. W. Rhodes, M.P. for the district, who urged! that the road be declared a subsidiary main highway, and that it be classed as a Government road in order to enable the Government to give a greater amount of help than the ordinary classificaition would permit.

The first speaker was the chairman of the Hauraki Plains County Council, Mr E. L. Walton, who explained the position of the road and remmdied the Minister that in April of last year a- deputation of Waitakaruru settlerts had met him at Waitakaruru with the request for assistance for metalling. Arising out of this, the Public Works district engineer had written to the Couhty Council on May 21 advising that the cost of metallling the full length of 2 miles 45 chains with a 10ft by 9in course was estimated to be £290'0, and, on the assumption that the Government would be prepared to subsidise on a £2 for £1 basis, the amount remaining to be found by the local bodies concerned would be approximately £960. On the 1926-27 road appropriations provision w<as made for Government subsidy of £l6O for the portion in the Waikato County and £250 for that in the Plains County, but, it appeared that no steps were taken, by either of the local bodies in the direction of commencing • this metalling. Under the special circumstances, and in view of' the geographical position of thfe, road in- relation to the three contiguous counties, it was thought that some arrangement could be reached for the joint financing of the work, and the Franklin County and Wlhangamarino Road Board were being approached with a view to ascertaining to what extent they would be .prepared to assist. Without having gone into details ryith the, counties affected, it was considered that a fair allocation of the cost to be found by the Hauraki Plains County Council would be, say, £660.

Having read this letter, Mr Walton read the council’s reply, which was to the effect that while the desireability of having the road metalled was realised, the question of finance was paramount. The council hgad decided that it would bear its proportion of the cost (£660), provided the Public Works Department carried out the work and accepted payment from the council in three, annual payments of £220 each, and that the amount of the Government grant was not charged against the council’s automatic allocation but was made the subject of a special grant. Continuing, Mr Walton pointed out that the road 1 was a difficult one for

the Hauraki Plains County to do any-

thing on, as it was bounded on one side by the sea and on the other by

hills, though it linked up part of the Franklin County, from which the Plains County could not collect rates.

The Council had asked that the* road

be classified as a subsidiary main highway, but this had not been done. Mr Dean, member for the Mercer riding on the Franklin County Council, endorsed Mr Walton’s request. Mr R. H. McKenzie, of Pokeno, a director of the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co., supported the request on behalf of the dairymen of the district. He pointed out that last year 165,0001 b of butter-fat were sent from the district to the Tuakau factory. Horses, motors, and the trains were used. If the road was metalled this cream would 1 be sent to the Ngatea factory, which was nearer. The supply was increasing rapidly, and the district was. within, easy dfestan.ee of the Ngatea factory. The cost of transportation was at present very high, but transport to Ngatea would mean a saving to suppliers of %d per lb, and the Minister would readily rec'ognise the value of this saving.

In reply, the Minister of Public Works, the. Hon. K. S. Wiilli'anis, said that as Minister he had' no power to affect the decisions of the Main Highways Board, but the would repeat the offer of a £2 for £1 subsidy. ■ Before going any further, he wanted to see what the Waikato Counity would do. Its 35 chains of road was certanily an obstacle, as the area affected was too ismall to enable a speci ail rating area to be formed.

CONNECTION WITH CLEVEDON

The Minister expressed sympathy with a request for assistance towards the cost of forming the sevenfile gap in the road between New Brighton and Clevedon along the coast. He promised a grant of £5OO for a bridge, and also promised to consider increasing the grants for road formation. <